Repository logo
 

Trial-unique, delayed nonmatching-to-location (TUNL) touchscreen testing for mice: sensitivity to dorsal hippocampal dysfunction.


Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Kim, Chi Hun 
Romberg, Carola 
Hvoslef-Eide, Martha 
Oomen, Charlotte A 
Mar, Adam C 

Abstract

RATIONALE: The hippocampus is implicated in many of the cognitive impairments observed in conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and schizophrenia (SCZ). Often, mice are the species of choice for models of these diseases and the study of the relationship between brain and behaviour more generally. Thus, automated and efficient hippocampal-sensitive cognitive tests for the mouse are important for developing therapeutic targets for these diseases, and understanding brain-behaviour relationships. One promising option is to adapt the touchscreen-based trial-unique nonmatching-to-location (TUNL) task that has been shown to be sensitive to hippocampal dysfunction in the rat. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to adapt the TUNL task for use in mice and to test for hippocampus-dependency of the task. METHODS: TUNL training protocols were altered such that C57BL/6 mice were able to acquire the task. Following acquisition, dysfunction of the dorsal hippocampus (dHp) was induced using a fibre-sparing excitotoxin, and the effects of manipulation of several task parameters were examined. RESULTS: Mice could acquire the TUNL task using training optimised for the mouse (experiments 1). TUNL was found to be sensitive to dHp dysfunction in the mouse (experiments 2, 3 and 4). In addition, we observed that performance of dHp dysfunction group was somewhat consistently lower when sample locations were presented in the centre of the screen. CONCLUSIONS: This study opens up the possibility of testing both mouse and rat models on this flexible and hippocampus-sensitive touchscreen task.

Description

Keywords

Delayed nonmatching-to-location, Hippocampus, Mouse, Spatial pattern separation, Spatial working memory, Touchscreen operant chamber, Animals, Automation, Choice Behavior, Cognition, Conditioning, Operant, Hippocampus, Male, Meloxicam, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, N-Methylaspartate, Neurotoxins, Thiazines, Thiazoles

Journal Title

Psychopharmacology (Berl)

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0033-3158
1432-2072

Volume Title

232

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
Medical Research Council (G1000183)
Wellcome Trust (089703/Z/09/Z)
Medical Research Council (G0001354)
Medical Research Council (MC_G1000734)
Wellcome Trust (093875/Z/10/Z)
European Commission (115008)
CHK received funding from the Korean Health Technology R&D Project, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (HI11C1183). CJH, LMS and TJB were funded by Medical Research Council/Wellcome Trust grant 089703/Z/09/Z. CR, LMS and TJB were funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK [ART/ESG2010/1]. ACM, MHE, CAO, LMS and TJB also received funding from the Innovative Medicine Initiative Joint Undertaking under grant agreement no 115008 of which resources are composed of EFPIA in-kind contribution and financial contribution from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013).